It depends on the pronunciation system that you use. The Jyutping "z" and "c" are represented as "j" and "ch" in Yale. The Jyutping z sounds closer to the "z" (IPA: [ts]) in german word "zimmer" than the "j" (IPA: [dʒ]) in English word "July" to me. 走: jau (Yale); zau (Jyutping) 進: jeun (Yale); zeon (Jyutping) 站: jaam (Yale); zaam (Jyutping) 青: ching (Yale); cing (Jyutping) 草: chou (Yale); cou (Jyutping) 財: choi (Yale); coi (Jyutping) 睛: jing (Yale); zing (Jyutping) 青: ching (Yale); cing (Jyutping)

Great question! In Cantonese (as in Mandarin), all non-sonorant consonants are unvoiced — this includes b, d, g, j, and z. Those letters that represent voiced consonants in other languages are used in Cantonese and Mandarin to represent unvoiced *unaspirated* consonants, as opposed to the unvoiced *aspirated* p, t, k, ch, and c. (Otherwise, we’d need to use diacritics or an H to indicate aspiration.) English speakers don’t necessarily notice this, because English also uses aspiration, and b, d, g, j, and z are not really fully voiced in English (except between vowels or other voiced consonants). Of course, we should try to get it right, but accidentally voicing an unvoiced unaspirated consonant in Chinese almost certainly won’t lead to any misunderstandings. Now, as far as *place* of articulation of z/j/c/ch, if anyone figures that out, please let me know.

For words like 走, 進, 站, etc. I don't think they sound like English "j." 走 (zau2), 進(zeon3), 站(zaam6) should be pronounced in such way. I don't know German, so I don't know what exactly do "z" sounds like. In the brackets, I use the Cantonese system to express. I can say the above sound a bit like "z" in English, which is a voiced sound. Hope the information helps you a bit. You may come to me if you want to learn more. Joyce A Chinese teacher from Hong Kong

Hi Jeremy, thank you for the comment. You make a good point. I'll try to concentrate on the aspiration aspect and see if that helps, as you're probably right that the voicing/not-voicing of the "z" isn't what's most important for being understood. I appreciate your taking the time to reply!

My understanding is that the real difference between the 'c' and 'z' sounds (using jyutping), is aspiration... i.e. the 'c' has a puff of air where the 'z' does not. In practice, I think of pronouncing the 'c' like 'ts' with aspiration... and sometime lazily like an English 'ch' with the same puff. I think of the 'z' sound somewhat like an English 'j' or perhaps 'dz' and, as best I can, try not to give that puff of air with it. I don't really worry about the fact that I may be voicing the 'z'. I originally practiced this with words like 茶 caa4 and 揸 zaa1, e.g. try saying these two phrases over and over: 飲茶 - jam2 caa4 揸車 - zaa1 ce1 While I'm far from either being an expert or having perfect pronunciation, using the above model I don't seem to have any issues being understood, particularly as it relates to distinguishing these sounds (unless I get REALLY sloppy and don't follow the above rules). YMMV.